Or is it like the time I dozed off while fast-forwarding during a commercial through a DVRed NASCAR race, finally heard my son giggling, woke up and noted that I had skipped 240 laps. I looked at the leader-board and saw that the top-ten was the same as when I started my nap. Nothing missed except maybe a few minor wrecks.

Is that about right?

--------------Mysticism is a rational enterprise. Religion is not. The mystic has recognized something about the nature of consciousness prior to thought, and this recognition is susceptible to rational discussion. The mystic has reason for what he believes, and these reasons are empirical. --Sam Harris

Oops I didn't mean to start a new thread. My bad. Out of practice. (That's what she...

--------------Mysticism is a rational enterprise. Religion is not. The mystic has recognized something about the nature of consciousness prior to thought, and this recognition is susceptible to rational discussion. The mystic has reason for what he believes, and these reasons are empirical. --Sam Harris

Head over to the UD thread and take a look. Long story short, the wheels have come off the wagon. The more-respectable (!!!) Discovery Institute people seldom drop by, Barry's about as philosophically sophisticated as Rush Limbaugh's less competent brother David, BornAgain is doing his ctrl-c-ctrl-v babbling, and Kairosfocus is doing most of the work. Islam, he is convinced, is an existential peril, and everyone who doesn't agree completely is a mortal enemy.

Head over to the UD thread and take a look. Long story short, the wheels have come off the wagon. The more-respectable (!!!) Discovery Institute people seldom drop by, Barry's about as philosophically sophisticated as Rush Limbaugh's less competent brother David, BornAgain is doing his ctrl-c-ctrl-v babbling, and Kairosfocus is doing most of the work. Islam, he is convinced, is an existential peril, and everyone who doesn't agree completely is a mortal enemy.

So Bill never drops by? And what about -- oops I forgot her name (Denise?), the Canadian journalist? Truly the adults left the building leaving behind the kids who are starting to go all Lord of the Flies?

--------------Mysticism is a rational enterprise. Religion is not. The mystic has recognized something about the nature of consciousness prior to thought, and this recognition is susceptible to rational discussion. The mystic has reason for what he believes, and these reasons are empirical. --Sam Harris

Head over to the UD thread and take a look. Long story short, the wheels have come off the wagon. The more-respectable (!!!) Discovery Institute people seldom drop by, Barry's about as philosophically sophisticated as Rush Limbaugh's less competent brother David, BornAgain is doing his ctrl-c-ctrl-v babbling, and Kairosfocus is doing most of the work. Islam, he is convinced, is an existential peril, and everyone who doesn't agree completely is a mortal enemy.

So Bill never drops by? And what about -- oops I forgot her name (Denise?), the Canadian journalist? Truly the adults left the building leaving behind the kids who are starting to go all Lord of the Flies?

I guess Bill sold it to Barry? Bill is long gone. Dense is still posting things. The banning/censoring is just routine now, and as a result, dissent has dropped so low that it's mostly an abnormally stupid echo chamber now.

So what do you guys do for fun around here? Is Richard Hughes still about? Is Kristine? k.e.? Wes?

--------------Mysticism is a rational enterprise. Religion is not. The mystic has recognized something about the nature of consciousness prior to thought, and this recognition is susceptible to rational discussion. The mystic has reason for what he believes, and these reasons are empirical. --Sam Harris

Sadly the whole shebang isn't what it used to be. I check in a few times a day. More if something juicy happens.

Barry's gonna close it or repurpose it someday, it's not really doing anything at the moment except going through the motions. I can't imagine he makes any real $$ off the traffic. Buying UD when he did was kinda like buying a house in Florida in late 2007.

So what do you guys do for fun around here? Is Richard Hughes still about? Is Kristine? k.e.? Wes?

You could always drop in on the Gary Gaulin thread.It gets old pretty fast, but he's eminently mockable.He's not the laugh-riot that afdave was, but he's about the best we've got to offer up for shits and giggles.

So what do you guys do for fun around here? Is Richard Hughes still about? Is Kristine? k.e.? Wes?

You could always drop in on the Gary Gaulin thread.It gets old pretty fast, but he's eminently mockable.He's not the laugh-riot that afdave was, but he's about the best we've got to offer up for shits and giggles.

Heddle can do what he wants, but I avoid that thread because it's too sad.

--------------Mysticism is a rational enterprise. Religion is not. The mystic has recognized something about the nature of consciousness prior to thought, and this recognition is susceptible to rational discussion. The mystic has reason for what he believes, and these reasons are empirical. --Sam Harris

So what do you guys do for fun around here? Is Richard Hughes still about? Is Kristine? k.e.? Wes?

Wes is still our go-to guy, k.e. is still hir inscrutable self. the other 2 seem to have gone walkabout...

--------------"But it's disturbing to think someone actually thinks creationism -- having put it's hand on the hot stove every day for the last 400 years -- will get a different result tomorrow." -- midwifetoad

My first computer was a Timex Sinclair TS-1000. "goto"s were an unavoidable thing on it.

Yes, I had courses in programming prior to that (FORTRAN and IBM 360 Assembler with Assist), but the TS-1000 was the first computer I owned. (About 1/2,000th the speed and three times the cost of a Raspberry Pi, for sake of comparison.)

There are some cool things to be done with objects, but that all came a bit later.

--------------Mysticism is a rational enterprise. Religion is not. The mystic has recognized something about the nature of consciousness prior to thought, and this recognition is susceptible to rational discussion. The mystic has reason for what he believes, and these reasons are empirical. --Sam Harris

--------------Mysticism is a rational enterprise. Religion is not. The mystic has recognized something about the nature of consciousness prior to thought, and this recognition is susceptible to rational discussion. The mystic has reason for what he believes, and these reasons are empirical. --Sam Harris

Hello H. Back to cilivisation tomorrow haven't heard from most of them.Did you miss the Erasmus event?

Yes I did. Was it some sort of purging?

--------------Mysticism is a rational enterprise. Religion is not. The mystic has recognized something about the nature of consciousness prior to thought, and this recognition is susceptible to rational discussion. The mystic has reason for what he believes, and these reasons are empirical. --Sam Harris